The Supreme Court has given the Trump administration a win by halting a lower court's ruling that blocked an executive order designed to prevent ineligible voters from participating in upcoming midterm elections. The order established a "whole-of-government approach" to stop non-citizens from registering or voting in federal elections, a move challenged by a coalition of 23 Democratic states and Washington, D.C.
The executive order directs the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to create a nationwide list of adult U.S. citizens and mandates the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to obtain registered voter lists. The USPS would then be required to send mail-in ballots only to individuals appearing on both lists. The Supreme Court's conservative justices determined the District Court lacked jurisdiction to issue its judgment, arguing the stay harmed the government's legitimate functions.
This ruling allows the Trump administration to move forward with its two-pronged effort: using the Postal Service to verify voter eligibility for mail-in ballots and having the Justice Department pursue those who facilitate illegal voting. President Trump has emphasized ensuring only eligible voters participate, citing emerging evidence suggesting hundreds of thousands of non-citizens are registered to vote, with some having voted in recent elections.
In July, the administration declassified a DHS assessment claiming over 250,000 illegal aliens were registered to vote in four states (California, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) based on commercial voter registration data. The administration offered states access to the SAVE system, a citizenship database, to identify non-citizens on voter rolls, but these four states declined. This led DHS to conduct its own review using publicly available records. In New Jersey, Governor Mikie Sherill announced that 6,600 non-citizens were accidentally registered through their motor vehicle system, with at least 400 having cast votes.
However, a federal appeals court panel separately rejected the Trump administration's attempt to lift a ban on using the Homeland Security Department's Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database for checking the accuracy of citizenship records on state voter rolls. This 2-1 ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a lower court's decision, citing violations of the Social Security Act due to the sharing of millions of Americans' private information and concerns about verified voters having their registrations canceled. The appeals court ruling specifically prevents the bulk use of the SAVE system for voter roll maintenance, distinguishing it from the Supreme Court's broader decision on the executive order's implementation.
